Volunteering for the App Roll Out Party at Stevenson High School (L to R) Elise Hauptman, Patriot Parents Association President, Jamie Epstein, Stand Strong Coordinator, and me.

Before I was Village President, I spent much of my time volunteering at our local schools. When I was PTO President at Country Meadows Elementary, it was like having a part-time job. And I used to volunteer weekly at the nurses office at Stevenson High School in addition to many other PPA jobs, so it was a familiar spot for the nine years I had children in attendance. But I have not had a reason to be a mom volunteer in the past four years until today, and it was so great to be back! This Friday I helped the Stevenson Prevention Team as part of the Stand Strong Coalition to assist with a special event party. A new App has been developed for the students to download, and it highlights positive messages to encourage our teens to avoid underage drinking and drug use. A large part of this message is about adolescent brain development, and how much more damaging substance abuse is to our “gray matter” at this particular stage in life–hence the catchy slogan on our T-shirts. All students who downloaded the App on their phone were invited to a special party today during the lunch periods featuring free desserts, D.J. dance music, raffles, and a grand prize giveaway. We were hoping to get 900 students to attend and the final count was closer to 1500! I had a great time being back at Stevenson, volunteering with my fellow moms and topping hundreds of ice cream sundaes with whipped cream. And if I helped encourage even one of those students to avoid drugs and alcohol at this stage in life, it was time well spent.